Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet

William pulled out his phone and brought up a photo of Yuriolev, saying, "The news about this attack on me came from this man, Yuriolev. Yuri is a New York arms dealer, active in the desert and Africa. Keep an eye on him for me. I have a feeling his motives aren't that simple. If there's no problem, great. If there is, just take him out."

"OK," White Ghost nodded, downing a glass of Latour wine in one gulp, then pouring himself another large glass before finishing that as well. Satisfied, he stood up and said, "I'll wait for your news. Make sure you save the rest of that bottle for the next time I come."

After that, he walked to the window, opened it, and climbed out.

Watching the now empty bottle of Latour, William glanced at the window and couldn't help but complain to himself, "There's a perfectly good door, but he insists on climbing out the window. And since when did it become fashionable to chug wine in one go?"

"Another one of those pretentious types," he muttered to himself, taking a sip of whiskey before downing it all at once.

He then went down to the basement and sat in his space chair. Immediately, a beam of light appeared from the virtual imaging table in front of him, displaying the stock market as it had just opened.

"SIR, since the news about Valentine Group regaining access to special raw materials hasn't been leaked yet, it's easy to find buyers for the long contracts we bought. We estimate that in one hour, the $3 billion leveraged at 3x will be completed."

"Good," William smiled, pleased at the thought of another big payday. "Are we certain that Valentine is secretly going long on his own company?"

"Yes, sir. Valentine doesn't have as much capital as we do, only $300 million, but he's using 5x leverage, and his contract term is one month."

"Haha, looks like that dark-skinned man is confident in his plan. I wonder how he'll feel when his stock price starts plummeting in a few days."

"SIR, should we inform Ms. Catherine and Mr. Garris about this plan? You did promise Ms. Catherine you would let her know if there was any action."

Without hesitation, William denied it. "No, I'm not going to tell her my plan now. We'll wait until Valentine's whole scheme is exposed."

Catherine was just an ally, and only an idiot would let her in on every profitable deal. Letting her become a billionaire would make future cooperation a lot harder.

At 10 a.m., news broke that 10 Downing Street had approved Valentine Group's request to provide another batch of special materials. Although this batch was only a quarter of the usual amount, it showed that Valentine Group had successfully lobbied the British government.

With the first batch secured, the second would be easy. Reporters soon appeared on the news, interviewing Valentine.

During the interview, Valentine revealed plans to fully automate his factory in Ireland and give a 10% pay raise to employees who hadn't caused trouble, while increasing the purchase of raw materials from the UK and Ireland.

Once this interview aired, everyone understood why the British government had loosened its control on the special materials. Valentine had essentially bought the authorization with money.

Raw materials from Ireland were far less abundant than those from England. By using automated machines to replace the troublesome workers, the initial investment would be high and cause plenty of disputes, but in the long run, the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks.

This good news caused the market to react immediately. Optimism spread, and Valentine Group's stock began to rise.

Three days later, the stock not only returned to its pre-incident level but climbed another 12%.

However, once William's three-day long contract was settled, and he withdrew $900 million in profits from the market, Valentine Group's stock price began to slow.

By midday, before the market closed, the rising trend had not only stalled but was starting to reverse. This infuriated Valentine, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, only for someone to interfere.

Given William's previous stock market achievements, it wouldn't take long for a domino effect to form. After much consideration, the only solution left for Valentine was to announce his plan for free communication and internet services ahead of schedule, causing him to grind his teeth in hatred toward William.

At 12:30 p.m., Valentine deliberately walked out of the stock exchange and, taking advantage of being surrounded by paparazzi, publicly mocked William, saying he had no foresight and had run away after earning a small profit. He then announced that he would hold a press conference at the exchange's conference hall in half an hour, where he would release some major good news.

At 1:00 p.m., excited reporters arrived in small groups, eagerly discussing what kind of significant announcement would be made.

Due to the tight timing, many reporters who couldn't make it in time were calling the exchange, hoping the press conference would be delayed. After some coordination with Valentine, the exchange announced that the conference would be pushed to 1:30 p.m.

At exactly 1:30 p.m., Richmond Valentine, dressed in a casual suit and wearing a mismatched baseball cap, walked to the center of the stage with a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming."

Despite this simple opening remark, the reporters responded with a round of applause. Valentine smiled, repeatedly thanking them before moving straight to the point.

"We all know the world has entered the era of the global village. Mobile communication and the internet have become part of our everyday lives. However, the convenience of communication has led to rising costs in these two areas.

According to some authoritative research, the average cost for mobile communication and internet services will reach $1,200 this year.

So today, I'm honored to tell you that with the continuous technological advancements of Valentine Group, I am here to announce the end of the fee-based era.

Starting tomorrow, anyone in the world can obtain a free phone and internet card from our company, and use our communication services at no cost. Yes, you heard that right. Free. As long as Valentine Group exists, this will be permanently effective. Thank you."

Applause erupted as soon as Valentine finished speaking, with many even shouting praises to God and Valentine.

The stock market reacted immediately. After an hour of volatility following the press conference, Valentine Group's stock skyrocketed, rising 16% by the end of the day.

The next day, after the free communication cards began to be distributed, Valentine Group's market value soared from $70 billion two weeks earlier to $100 billion.

In just three days, Valentine Group distributed three million free communication cards, turning Richmond Valentine into the most talked-about figure globally. Media outlets everywhere were covering Valentine, asking why he was doing this and what benefits it would bring.

Meanwhile, William, who had been publicly mocked by Valentine during the press conference, was quickly labeled as a short-sighted fool. Whenever people mentioned William, they would sneer in disdain.

On the fifth day after the press conference, William received a report.

"SIR, the $3.96 billion you had in the Swiss National Bank, along with the new $900 million you earned, has been transferred in full, after fees, to Bastet Bank in Switzerland. The plan can now begin."

"Good," William smirked coldly, lying back in his space chair. "Let's hope the shareholders at National Bank don't regret this."

"No, SIR, I believe they will definitely regret it."

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]

[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]